Slipknot – Slipknot

Slipknot was one of the very first bands that we all listened to which incorporated those kinds of harsh vocals, which opened our eyes to a whole new world of music that we didn’t know existed beforehand. It was aggressive, they had masks, and the whole sound had this horror theme going on that was really intriguing to our young ears. Their first album was the first album that turned most of us on to metal and hardcore when we were kids. Our drummer still plays the intro to “SIC” when he’s angry in the rehearsal space.

Metallica – Ride The Lightning

Most of us used to be metalheads growing up, so of course the early Metallica has a special place in our musical upbringing. You couldn’t really grow up in Denmark without taking notice of Metallica. The older Metallica is some of the most solid metal that’s ever been written. The songs are so groundbreaking and helped getting metal away from the underground music scene. We’re definitely more into the more thrashy Metallica material though. The sound of Ride The Lightning is one of the best sounding Metallica albums ever made and has some of the best riffs from their whole catalogue of songs on this very album.

Slayer – God Hates Us All

In our teens we mostly listened to metal or punk whereas hardcore was something that we all grew into later in our lives. Some of us were really into Slayer and their, at the time, very technical riffing in those years. God Hates Us All is an album that is often overlooked, but has had a big impact on most of us at a young age at time in our lives when everything looked bleak and you first learned that god doesn’t exist.

Terror – One With The Underdogs

Terror is probably one of the bands that writes some of the catchiest hardcore in existence. It’s a band that you can completely forget about for a couple of years, but when you listen to it again after some time you’ll still be able to remember all the lyrics and sing along to the songs as if you’ve never stopped listening to them. It’s hard to say which album is their strongest, but One With The Underdogs is without a doubt the one album that we’ve been listening to the most. Terror creates a sound that only they can produce and has a real timeless quality to it. If I ever had to show anybody what hardcore is, I would definitely be playing this album for them.

Warbrain – Void Of Confussion

Warbrain has a very distinct sound and they really know how to build a theme and keep the tempo going within each song on their records. Void Of Confusion has been played on repeat for a lot of us and has had a big impact on how we structure our own songs. They have a distinct sound that is easy to recognize every time you hear it and you can clearly differentiate them from other bands in the same genre. You can clearly sense that they also have a strong love for metal/classic metal as well. Void Of Confusion is one of the best newer hardcore albums out there and is an album that everybody should definitely check out!

Expire – Pendulum Swings

When Expire first released “Pendulum Swings” it was a time we’ll never forget. The lyrics to “Just Fine” hit you so hard that you felt that you were standing on the edge of a tall building starring down at the concrete where the only option you have is to plunge down head first into the asphalt. They write extremely well written songs and the lyrics are hard-hitting on every single track. They’ve been a big inspiration on us all and they will be greatly missed.

Nails – Abandon All Life

One the things that Nails do so well is to cut all unnecessary elements out of their songs. Most of the songs only contain 3-4 really strong riffs that they just blast through at 250 km/h. Everything on “Abandon All Life” sounds out of this world and brutal. It sounds as if they’ve really thrashed their instruments while recording the album. “Abandon All Life” is a record that we keep going back to all the time. It’s right to the point, hard, and brutal. Amazing!

Ill Natured – Depths Of Despair

Another record that we keep going back to is Ill Natured’s ”Depth Of Despair”. It’s one of the records that we were listening to the most while recording our album “6 0 1”. It’s heavy in a very groovy way all the way through the album and has a very natural flow throughout the album, even though it’s very slow and heavy all the way through. It’s definitely one of best newer hardcore records out there and is a band that we can’t wait to hear more from in the future.

Imprisoned – Hard To Kill

Imprisoned’s ”Hard To Kill” has a sublime guitar sound throughout the whole record. As with Ill Natured’s “Depth Of Despair“ this record has a really natural flow with killer riifs and a bad vibe running through all of the songs. This is one of the records we always blast through the stereo when we’re driving long distances between shows. The track “Imprisoned” is especially headbang-worthy – we’ve been close to crashing the car several times while blasting this song as load as possibly. Definitely worth a listen if you haven’t already checked it out.

Dawn Of Demise – Rejoice In Vengeance

Dawn Of Demise is without a doubt one of Denmark’s best death metal bands, and should definitely be checked out if you want to listen to some Danish metal. They write heavy and groovy tunes and play some weirdly fun live shows as well. Their front-man is a bizarrely funny man that creates a very easygoing vibe surrounding their shows. You’re constantly laughing your ass off when going to their shows, which is a very nice contrast to their brutal death metal tunes.

6 0 1 is out now